Miro vs Padlet vs Jamboard: Which Whiteboard Is Best for Your Class?
Three tools dominate the online whiteboard space in schools: Miro, Padlet and Google Jamboard. All three are collaborative, browser-based and free (or largely free). But they serve different purposes and feel very different in practice. Here is exactly how they compare.
Google Jamboard
Important note: Google announced that Jamboard will be discontinued and the app will no longer function after December 2024. If you are reading this and still using Jamboard, plan your migration now. Google recommends FigJam, Miro or Lucidspark as alternatives.
What it was: A simple digital whiteboard with sticky notes, drawing tools and image uploads. Tightly integrated with Google Workspace — accessible directly from Google Drive. The simplicity was its strength: teachers and students with any level of technical confidence could use it immediately.
Padlet
What it is: A digital notice board where participants post sticky notes containing text, images, links, videos, audio clips and documents. Multiple layouts available — free grid, columns, map, timeline, shelf and stream.
Strengths:
- Easiest to use of the three — students click a blank space and type. No training needed.
- No student account required — students join via a link or QR code.
- Multiple post types — a student can post a YouTube clip, another posts a drawing, another posts text — all on the same board.
- Comment and reaction features — students can respond to each other's posts.
- Private/public settings — control who can see and who can post.
Limitations: Free plan limited to 3 Padlets. Padlets count toward the limit even when archived. The free plan watermarks embedded Padlets.
Best for: Quick collaborative activities, exit tickets, brainstorming, gallery walks, vocabulary walls. Any activity where the barrier to participation needs to be as low as possible.
Miro
What it is: An infinite canvas supporting sticky notes, shapes, mind maps, flowcharts, diagrams, images, video embeds, voting, timers, Kanban boards and over 300 templates. The most powerful and flexible of the three.
Strengths:
- Templates for almost every collaboration need: Design Thinking, retrospectives, SWOT analysis, lesson plans, timelines.
- Voting (dot voting) and timer features built in — useful for facilitated activities.
- Sticky notes can be connected with arrows — great for mind maps and concept mapping.
- Integrations with Google Drive, Slack, Teams, Zoom and Figma.
- Presentation mode — share the board as a guided presentation without revealing the full canvas.
Limitations: More complex interface — students need a brief orientation. Free plan limited to 3 editable boards. Some templates and features require a paid plan.
Best for: Complex group projects, design thinking workshops, project planning, retrospectives, concept mapping, any activity that benefits from visual structure and templates.
Head-to-head comparison
| Padlet | Miro | |
|---|---|---|
| Student account needed | No | No (guest access) |
| Ease of use | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Features/templates | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Free plan boards | 3 | 3 |
| Best age range | All ages | Secondary+ |
| Best activity type | Quick, open posting | Structured collaboration |
Recommendation
Use Padlet as your default for everyday collaborative activities — it has the lowest barrier to student participation and works for every age group. Use Miro for more complex group projects and activities that benefit from templates, structure and visual connections between ideas. Since both free plans allow 3 boards, many teachers keep one ongoing Miro board for project work and use Padlet for lesson-specific activities that they archive and delete to stay within the limit.
